


undone

by anaer



Category: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Angst, Dark, Knifeplay, M/M, Object Insertion, Revenge, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2020-07-12 07:49:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19942699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anaer/pseuds/anaer
Summary: Seifer tears down the life Cloud and Leon have built together.---“…Se’fer,” he slurred, the word a semi-desperate plea yet half swallowed by the pillow.“You miss me?” Seifer continued, pressing the words into the corner of Leon’s mouth, just shy of his lips. “Hyne, I missed you.” He glanced back at Cloud, something dark and calculating in his eyes. “I get the sense you didn’t miss me much at all.”





	undone

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Out-of-Character217 (Out_of_Character217)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Out_of_Character217/gifts).



> I'm the change I want to see in the world.
> 
> Yes, that change is more Squall torture.
> 
> OOC I blame you.
> 
> Heed the tags.

Fingers trailed down his back, nails scratching lightly over bare skin. Leon flinched. He tried to pull away, but his body was leaden. Between that and the rope digging into his wrists, lashing his hands above his head there was nowhere for him to go. No escape. Breath tickled his ear, and lips soon pressed softly into his cheek. The fingers on his back trailed lower, dancing down the nobs of his spine until they reached his ass. Leon jerked his head in an aborted attempt to say no. All he got for his efforts was a low chuckle filling the air and those fingers dipping even lower, sliding invasively between his ass cheeks.

“C’mon, Squall; don’t be overdramatic,” Seifer said lightly. “I haven’t even done anything to you yet.”

That got a loud, muffled growl in response, but not from Leon. It came from across the room where Cloud sat, glowing green cat eyes pinned on them, shouting behind the gag shoved in his mouth. He looked even more doped up than Leon felt, in his underwear and sagging against the chains locking him to the chair. Even whatever drugs he was on couldn’t suppress the rage radiating out of him, amplifying with every stolen touch. Seifer tossed him a glance then turned back to Leon, paying Cloud no mind. Of course not. He didn’t care about Cloud.

This was about Leon.

“… _Se’fer_ ,” he slurred, the word a semi-desperate plea yet half swallowed by the pillow.

“Yeah, Squall?” Seifer stroked his fingers back and forth – too softly – over Leon’s hole. He shuddered.

Leon had only been half awake when Seifer had stripped him; he could faintly remember his body being moved, but he’d come to like this, only beginning to spin together the first spools of panic when he’d noticed Cloud across the way, chained up and passed out. Seifer was still fully clothed. He’d tossed his coat somewhere around the room – gloves, too – but that was it.

“You miss me?” Seifer continued, pressing the words into the corner of Leon’s mouth, just shy of his lips. “Hyne, I missed _you_.”

Leon tried to shift forward, away from Seifer’s hand touching him so intimately. His body still refused to comply.

“ _Stop_ ,” he managed to beg. His voice was tight, eyes seconds away from letting the first tears creep down his cheeks.

“Stop?” Seifer repeated. He laughed, then: “No,” and shoved a dry finger up Leon’s ass. He keened, digging teeth into the pillow under his head. Cloud yelled more garbled nonsense, and Seifer laughed again. Just as soon as the finger came, it was gone. Leon was left empty, breathing harshly, trying to wrap his head around what was happening. Sheets bunched up underneath his hips, and he was only partially aware of Seifer wiping his hand off in them.

Seifer glanced back at Cloud, something dark and calculating in his eyes. “I get the sense you didn’t miss me much at all.” His hands were gentle again, massaging over the smooth skin of Leon’s back, working up and down into the muscles in a way that had Leon relaxing against his will. He drifted, dazed, and the world slowly bled away from him. A sharp pinch on his ass cheek brought him back to consciousness, and he yelped, suddenly blinking and trying to remember where he was and what was happening. Seifer’s voice pierced through the fog, an instant reminder.

“Y’r… _dead_ ,” he gasped, the only words he could wrap his tongue around as everything grew heavier. He could almost feel Seifer’s blood, sticky and hot, still coating his hands. The disbelief had stayed with him until the official confirmation had come through days later. “ _Kill’d_ you.” Seifer’s hands disappeared from him. A tongue trailed up his neck, warm and wet and not what Leon wanted. He shuddered again, straining to pull his neck free.

“I forgive you for that,” Seifer breathed into Leon’s ear. “Though I thought you were better at finishing the job.” He paused, then spat out, "But then I wasn't a _job_ for you, _was_ I?" and pinched him again.

The bed shifted as Seifer moved to sit up, resting a hand on the dip in Leon's back.

"Hm," he mused, "Think I went too heavy with the drugs. Wasn't sure how much I'd need for that one." He gestured his head in Cloud's direction. "He's not normal, is he?" Cloud snarled again, eyes too bright and too glassy. "Could've brought down a ruby dragon with what I gave him, and he still looks more alert than you right now."

He gave Leon a pat on the back. Leon opted not to respond still, not sure what he would say or willing to fight with his body to say it. He was still trying to wrap his mind around Seifer _alive_.

“Cloud, right?” Seifer asked. Cloud’s garble was inaudible and hate filled.

There was danger in that, somehow. In Seifer’s attention turning to Cloud. Leon couldn’t let that happen, so he mustered up the strength to force out the question battering around in his mind. “Ho…w?”

Seifer looked back down to him, meeting the confused gaze.

“How? How did I drug you? Retirement made you sloppy, I’d say. Or how did I find you? That took some work, admittedly. You changed your name. _Leon_. Very creative, Leonhart.” He broke off then, and the grin on his face disappeared all at once. “Or are you asking how I’m alive?” he hissed, suddenly vicious. “No thanks to _you_ , you fuck.”

Any of that. None of that. Leon wasn’t sure what he was asking, but Seifer already seemed to have made up his mind on his answer. A hand threaded through his hair, loose at first, before it turned to a fist, and Seifer yanked his head up, forcing Leon to meet his eyes. “You’ll probably be fucking elated to know you did _actually_ finish the job. I bled out in that cell.”

He wasn’t. He hadn’t been happy then, either. Hadn’t been able to process what had happened – what Seifer had forced his hand to do. He’d still been a mess when he’d met Cloud two months later. He hadn’t _wanted_ that. But it was him or Seifer, and Leon had never been someone who’d choose Seifer over his own life, no matter how they’d grown up together.

“Ultimecia wasn’t too happy when she found out, and, well, who’s gonna stop that crazy fucking sorceress intent on bringing someone back? She was disappointed. I had to be _punished_ for my _failure_ ,” he spat. He shoved Leon’s head back down and stood up from the bed.

“I used to be real pissed at you about that, Squall,” he continued, ambling around the small studio. Leon’s eyes tracked him automatically as best they could with consciousness slipping in and out of his grip. Cloud jerked in his chains every time Seifer passed too close, a threat he was still too out of it to deliver on. “I thought a lot about what I would do to you when I got out of there.” He barked out a laugh, stopping next to the simple wooden table behind Cloud. “Some crazy ass fantasies.” He rested a hand down on the table, and Leon’s eyes widened as he took in everything laid out for him to see. “And then I got over _that_. I got why you did it, you know. And I figured you were rightfully miserable now without me.”

Seifer was looking at the spread before him now. He dragged his finger over a knife and then up the blade of another one next to it. He lifted the one next to it, watched the way the light glinted off the metal. _Kitchen knives_ , Leon realised idly.

“But this? Retired? Settled down like some fucking…homemaker? Cooking and cleaning like you’re his fucking wife.” He turned back to Leon, pointing the knife in his direction. “It’s a fucking disgrace. You were always great at what we did, Squall. Better than me, if I’m being honest – some of the sweetest kills I’ve ever seen – and I used to hate you for it. But this?” He lowered the knife, dropping it back down to the table behind him. “This I hate even more.” Seifer stormed back over to Leon, bumping Cloud as he passed, and yanking his head up once more. He leaned low, lips tickling Leon’s ear, as he snarled, “You didn’t even fucking _think_ about me, did you?”

Leon shuddered. Killing was not something he’d ever taken lightly even though he’d oft suspected Seifer had. It was just how they’d been raised. All they’d known. As for the rest…

“Did,” he replied, tongue heavy from more than just the drugs. “Think of…you.” Too often, in regret and in nightmares.

Seifer let go, calm again, and Leon’s head slumped back down. “I appreciate the sentiment, but you’re above lying to save your ass.” He meandered back over to Cloud, coming to stand behind the chair. “Or to save _his_ ass.” Eyes still too bright and not fully tracking, Cloud’s head lolled when he tried to turn it to see. Seifer dragged Cloud’s chair back, and Cloud growled, attempting to jerk his head back to hit him. The movement was too sluggish to mean anything, and Seifer laughed, letting go when Cloud could see the table, too. If anything, that just made Cloud angrier.

“Seif…” Leon tried. His mouth was suddenly dry, and the beating in his chest was beginning to pick up speed.

Seifer ignored him, and made his way back over to the table. “Brought some stuff myself, but then I went exploring around the place while you were out,” he said lightly. “Found all kinds of interesting things.” The knives, of course, and cords of all kinds, cleaning supplies leaning towards caustic. A lighter. More that Leon couldn’t see or didn’t have the capacity to process right now. “I’m gonna propose a game. For both of you. Two player kinda thing.”

"No." He could barely hear his own voice, breathless and squeezed tight with terror as it was.

"Don't be like that. I haven't even told you what we're playing. And trust me, you're gonna wanna be a good sport." He gripped Clouds face under his chin, forcing Cloud to look in Leon's direction. They locked eyes, and Cloud looked more awake now - much more alert, even with his coordination shot - and beneath the anger sat something more familiar, more comforting. It made something twist up sick in his stomach.

"It's simple, really. You tell me what I use on him, and I promise I won't do anything _too_ bad. Won't maim him, won't even mess up this pretty face like I did yours." He shook Cloud's head back and forth. Cloud growled. "You make me choose, and, well…" He shrugged a shoulder, eyes glinting cruel. "Anything goes."

Horror gripped his throat, squeezing tight, and Leon couldn’t push any words out. Cloud was still looking at him, and something had softened in his gaze. _‘It’s fine,_ ’ he could read, a pat reassurance.

It wasn’t. None of this was. There was no way Seifer would keep that promise, but Leon did know for sure that if he didn’t play along, at least one of them would be dead by the end of this. At least one of them might be dead by the end of this anyway.

It was a small blessing that Seifer had no way of knowing exactly how much damage Cloud could take.

“Not gonna choose, Squall?” Seifer taunted when the silence had gone on for too long. “I know I gave you a lot of options, but damn. Didn’t think you’d go dealer’s choice straight off the bat. I’m fine with that…but I don’t think _he_ will be.” He let go of Cloud, who’s head only lolled forward slightly this time before he managed to catch himself, and turned to the table, passing his hand over everything from the innocuous – wooden spoons and spatulas and utensils, even the fucking spice cupboard was emptied out there – to the more dangerous. His hand lingered over the cleaning supplies until he finally reached for the bleach.

“Wait!” Leon croaked, letting out a puff of air when Seifer paused. He looked at Cloud, still watching him reassuringly, and then back to the table.

“Make it something fun,” Seifer added. Leon jerked his head down, the best acknowledgment he could muster.

“ _Knife_. Use…a knife.” It was simple. Not much damage Seifer would do with it if his promise held, and dangerous enough that it should qualify as _fun_. Cloud could handle it. Cloud had handled so much worse than that before.

“Really? _Knives_? You _are_ boring.” Still, he redirected his reach and picked up one of their kitchen knives again. He examined it slowly, touching the straight edge with a finger before he frowned. “I did make the rules, though. We’ll go with it.” He put it back down and moved to another one. It was stainless steel and serrated, and his lips curled up into a wicked smile. “Yeah, I think this will work.”

Cloud was watching Seifer warily now, eyes brimming dark with hate. Leon wanted to look away, almost wanted to give in to the blackness still tugging at him, wanting to pull him under. The very real terror of what he would wake up to kept him fighting that, even as his eyes burned with tears already starting to leak out into the pillow. He pulled at his restraints, body shifting a fraction. More than he could do before, but all the same, not nearly enough. His reserve of spells was still elusive, too, now that he remembered them. They sat just past the tip of what he could grasp, useless in the face of the very real danger _right now_.

Seifer twirled the knife between his fingers as he approached Cloud. He grabbed him by the hair, and Cloud growled, jerking against the grip. The knife skimmed lightly down his cheek, pressing lightly but not enough to break the skin. Cloud stilled, breath harsh from anger, whole body tense.

“Last rule of the game,” he added. “This stops when he’s screaming. Then it’s your turn.” With a condition like that…Leon knew Cloud. This wasn’t going to stop. Hyne, he hoped he was wrong, though.

“Cloud,” he murmured, a desperate imploration, but the look Cloud returned was determined and stubborn and made Leon want to punch him. Seifer was going to take it out on him anyway when he was done with Cloud. _‘Just let him,’_ he wanted to cry. “ _No_.”

“Are you looking, Squall?” Seifer finished.

He was, with rapt attention, frozen as he watched the blade slide down past Cloud’s neck, scrape over his collarbone, then stop short at the top of his pectoral. The tip pressed in, and Leon could see Cloud’s neck muscles strain. Cloud made a sharp inhale, eyes squeezed shut and teeth clenched together around the cloth gag in his mouth.

The knife dragged down slowly, ripping open a long gash from chest to stomach. Cloud let loose a strangled noise before he got it under control, and the only sound was once again harsh breathing. Leon didn’t know if it was coming from him or Cloud. Cloud blinked his eyes open, meeting Leon’s once more with even more determination

Seifer pulled back, frowning at Cloud. “Really? That’s all I get from you?” he asked. Cloud glared back, a look that screamed, _‘Fuck you,’_ but Leon barely noticed. Leon could only focus on the blade, eyes pinned to the gleaming red dripping off it, matching the leaking mess on Cloud’s body.

“Shouldn’t have expected anything different. You would pick someone tough, wouldn’t you, Squall? Guess I’ll just have to try harder.”

A second cut, parallel to the first, then a third, then another and another, but Cloud didn’t make a single sound more until the eighth one, splitting open his side from armpit to hip. It wasn’t a scream still, just a mangled moan as he tried to pull away from the knife digging into his side.

“For fuck’s sake!” Seifer shouted furiously, throwing the knife down onto the ground with a clatter. He punched Cloud, and his head snapped to the side with a grunt. Cloud pulled his head back around, shaking it out, then stared up at Seifer, death in his eyes. Seifer punched him again, then stomped back over to the table, muttering under his breath. “Fine, then, we’ll try something _else_.”

Leon lifted his head a fraction, as high as he could force himself to move, shaking it in denial. “S’fer… _no_. You said—“

Seifer whirled around. “I said I’d use what you chose; I didn’t say anything about not changing it up!” He snatched a bottle off the table. Leon couldn’t make out the contents from where he lay, with Seifer blocking it with his body, but Cloud could, and he stilled, both hands clenched tight and darting eyes back and forth between whatever Seifer was holding and Leon. His concern was too much for Leon and not enough for himself.

“Now wait your fucking turn; it won’t be long.” Seifer popped the cap off and Leon flinched at the overpowering stench of bleach that instantly permeated through the room. Panic filled him in the next second.

“No…Se’fer, don’t…please,” he begged, desperation clawing at his chest. “ _Please_.” He pulled at his restraints and managed to flop over slightly, his head sliding off the pillow to cushion on his arm.

Seifer slid his hand through the blonde spikes of hair on top of Cloud’s head. Cloud jerked away from him, but Seifer grabbed him by the hair to hold him still. Cloud twisted his head, fighting against the grip, and it took everything Seifer had not to let go. “It would be irresponsible of me not to tend to his wounds, Squall.” He raised the bottle over Cloud’s chest. Cloud watched it, eyes focussed now, with trepidation lining his face.

“Please. Seif’.” Leon was babbling anything that came to mind. “Don’t. Not him. _Stop_. ‘M sorry.”

Seifer shook his head. “We are so fucking far past sorry, Squall.” He tipped his hand.

The bleach fell in slow motion, splashing onto Cloud’s cut up chest, mixing with blood as it seeped down into the gashes and over his skin.

It was a whimper first. Small, barely perceptible as Seifer poured it back and forth over his chest. The small noise opened a floodgate, and the next second Cloud was crying out into the gag, choking on a scream. His eyes were squeezed shut. He yanked against the chains holding him to the chair, fighting to get away. The creak of wood from the chair was his only result.

Seifer stopped pouring, a pleased smile on his face as he listened to the sounds coming from Cloud. “That’s much better,” he announced, dropping the bleach down on the floor next to him. 

Leon couldn’t look anymore. He turned his head back into the pillow, sobbing out a soft, “ _Fuck_.” The bed dipped, and then a smooth hand stroked down his back once more, settling just above his ass. Cloud was doing his best to swallow it down, but he couldn’t, and Leon couldn’t tune him out if he’d wanted to.

“Fuck you,” Leon choked out.

“Don’t be like that,” Seifer said lightly, fondling Leon’s naked ass. “That’s not even a _fraction_ of what Ultimecia did to me because of you. Besides, I’m done with him now, remember?”

Cloud’s screaming began to peter off, in favour of choked, pained gasps. Seifer picked himself up from the bed. Leon cautioned a glance, more afraid of not knowing what was happening next than watching it happen. _‘Done with him,’_ could mean anything, and he prayed to every god he could think of it didn’t mean Seifer was going to kill him.

Seifer stopped in front of Cloud, stuck a finger under the gag, and yanked it down out of his mouth.

“Fucking _kill you_ ,” was the first thing Cloud said, breathless and pained and _angry_.

“Yeah, I get that a lot,” Seifer replied. “So. What’ll it be?”

It took Cloud, still gasping, more than a second to process what had just been said. “…What?”

Hyne. Leon could already see how this was going to go. Cloud was too angry, and Seifer was too… _Seifer_. He swallowed nervously. “Cloud—,” he tried, but Seifer whirled on him immediately, jabbing a finger in his direction.

“You. Shut up. You had your turn.” Seifer turned back to Cloud. “Did you miss when I explained the game? Although I guess you could be forgiven for getting a little… _distracted_.” He pressed a finger into a gash, and Cloud choked back another scream. His finger dripped blood as he pulled his hand away, and he grinned, sadistic gleam in his eye. “How should I hurt Squall, _Cloud_?”

Leon saw the instant it connected. Cloud’s face hardened, lips thinning out into a line. “Cloud,” he croaked quietly, trying again. Cloud’s eyes jerked to him. His swallowed, trying to get moisture back into his mouth. “’S okay,” he repeated back what Cloud had been trying to communicate earlier. “Just…do…what he wants.” _Don’t do anything stupid._

Cloud’s eyes narrowed, and he glanced back to Seifer, but something in his expression gave. Seifer snarled, pulling away from Cloud to storm back over to Leon. He grabbed him by the hair, jerking his head up and around to look at him.

“I thought I told you to shut up!” Spit flew into Leon’s face. He barely had time to process that before Seifer shoved his head into the pillow. Leon struggled, trying to free his head as his air was cut off.

“Let him go… _asshole_!” he heard Cloud shouting, along with a litany of curses and insults. Seifer’s grip on his head tightened, pinning him there until his lungs began to burn. He twisted his wrists in their bonds, the scratchy rope digging in sharply. His lungs on fire, Leon let out a weak noise.

“Get your…your fucking hands…off of him!”

And then he was free, and Leon gasped for breath, sucking it in desperately.

“When I want your opinion, I’ll _ask_ you, Squall,” Seifer hissed into his ear. “In fact…” Seifer shifted, and in the background, over the sound of his own desperate breathing, Cloud continued to spill out threats. It was a distant sort of realisation that he was trembling. His heart pounded, terror racing through him, and he dared to look up just in time to see Seifer sit back up, something in hand. Leon blinked lazily, glazed eyes confused as he recognised Cloud’s briefs.

He stayed confused as Seifer grabbed his jaw. It wasn’t until cloth suddenly shoved into his mouth that he tried to jerk back, but it was too late to fight. He tried to spit it out, but Seifer just shoved more underwear in his mouth. Cloth ripped, and then something tied around his face. Leon moaned, letting his head fall back down to the pillow as soon as Seifer let him go.

“There,” Seifer said, patting Leon’s cheek when he was done.

“Don’t fucking touch him!” Cloud fought against the chains, the chair creaking even louder as he grew more violent and caught Seifer’s attention again.

“We both know I’m gonna do way worse than _touch him_. The question is just how. You got an answer for me yet?”

Cloud’s eyes glowed furiously as he spat out, “I will…rip your dick off…and shove it…up your ass!”

“Vivid imagery, but that’s not in the spirit of the game. I think you want to try and be more sporting here, Cloud.” A hand stroked slowly – threateningly – down the side of Leon’s neck.

“This…the only way you can…get your kicks?” Cloud continued, all thoughts of Leon’s earlier imploration disappeared in a wash of rage, exactly like he’d feared. He made a small noise, trying to get Cloud’s attention. Seifer glanced down sharply, annoyed, and flicked his jaw. Cloud’s eyes flashed brighter. “You already knew you’d…you’d lose if you tried to take him in a fight. Drugging people and…tying them up to torture makes you feel… _tough_? Can’t be…be that tough; you barely…fucking scratched me.” Leon almost wanted to laugh. His eyes were burning again, and he couldn’t tell if his face was wet from old tears or new. A scratch, Cloud said, as he sat there bleeding out and burning, skin blistering and red and darkening by the minute – still in more pain than Leon had ever seen him.

Seifer tensed, face twisting into a nasty look. His fingers dug sharply into the back of Leon’s neck, tiny pinpricks of pain that could only be read as a promise. He stood up and marched over to Cloud, who glared up at him defiantly.

Seifer punched him.

Cloud’s head snapped to the side again, and he shook out his jaw, spitting blood. The look on his face promised even more violence than Seifer could dish out. He snorted disdainfully. “You think…you can actually hurt me?”

Seifer punched him again. “I already fucking did.”

Cloud licked the blood off his lips. “You’re a twisted freak,” he continued. “You…know that, right? Leon told me all about you.”

Seifer rubbed his knuckled, the scowl on his face only growing. “Oh, did he? What fucking thing did Squall actually say?”

“Enough that I’m _glad_ you didn’t die when…he killed you. You…you deserved it, but you deserved whatever…fucked up punishment you got instead…even _more_.” Seifer was still. That alone was enough to raise Leon’s terror, bringing it just under his skin. If Cloud didn’t stop, Seifer would _kill_ him.

 _‘Don’t be stupid,’_ he begged again, knowing it was already too late. This wasn’t stupid to Cloud. Cloud had been angry about this since he’d first told him the story, since he’d caught on to how terrified Leon had been before, how sick he’d been after, when Seifer was dead at Leon’s hand. His only chance for escape, he’d taken it and fallen apart in the aftermath.

“Why?” Cloud wasn’t set to stop any time soon. “Compensating? Parents…abandoned you, right? Girlfriend saw…you were a freak, too? Decided to…to take it out on Squall? Or just…the usual. Dick too small?”

Seifer took a deep breath and relaxed his muscles one by one. The grin flickered back over his face, brittle even as he aimed for cocky. “Why don’t you ask Squall here?” he replied. The lightness to his voice was forced, eyes burning with something a step beyond anger.

“What do you say, Squall? Was my dick too small for you at the time?”

The noise Leon made was muffled and slightly panicked. Cloud jerked forward to try and attack Seifer, hissing at the pain when he stopped short. Seifer’s eyes gleamed with vindication.

“Or do you need a reminder?” Seifer stepped away from Cloud, and Leon watched him approach with trepidation. A hand landed on his ass again, and he shuddered. “I know what you’re trying to do,” he returned to Cloud. “Trying to get me so pissed at you that I’m distracted from him, right?” Seifer’s fingers followed their earlier track, slipping down between Leon’s ass cheeks. He made a wordless noise of protest, shaking his head, but instead of one sliding inside of him again, Seifer’s hand slipped lower until he cupped Leon’s balls.

“Congratulations: you pissed me off. You also forfeited your turn, so it’s all up to me.” Leon’s teeth dug sharply into the underwear shoved in his mouth. He tried to tune out what was happening, but Seifer yanked hard, twisting, and his mind went white with pain. He screamed into the makeshift gag. “Go on, Cloud. Tell him it’s gonna be okay.” The scream faded off into a soft whimper as he struggled to catch his breath.

“Go _fuck_ yourself!” Cloud snarled back. “Gonna _tear you apart._ ”

Seifer nodded agreeably and let go. “Sure.” His touch was barely a tickle over Leon’s penis, but it was still enough to make Leon jump. “You know, Squall, I think we’re gonna need something else to work with here. Really spice things up.” Leon tried to beg, his words nothing but a garbled mess. Seifer tapped his ass lightly again and stood up, meandering over to the table.

“Gonna make you _regret_ this,” Cloud continued, panic beginning to eat away at his voice as he glanced back and forth between Leon and Seifer. Leon couldn’t bring himself to meet Cloud’s eyes, not fully. It wasn’t Cloud’s fault – he would never blame him for this – but everything Cloud was going through was his fault. He could’ve done a better job – he _should’ve_ done a better job. Should’ve killed Seifer past the point where trying to bring him back was viable.

“I think you’re gonna regret this more than I will, actually,” Seifer returned as he sifted through the kitchenware. “Hmm, no, not this.” He moved to the next thing. “Not this one.” And the next. “No. Ugh, don’t you guys have anything good? Oh, wait.” He stopped. “Think this’ll do.” Leon couldn’t see what it was he’d picked out yet, not until he turned around and twirled the wooden mixing spoon in his hand.

Cloud’s breath of relief was audible, but Leon couldn’t bring himself to join him. His eyes were pinned on it as Seifer came back over. It wasn’t the longest spoon they had, though it was sturdy. The end was thicker and a little rounded, the spoon on it the same as the spoon on every other one. Was Seifer trying to beat him with it? He looked him in the eye, and blood turned to ice turned to liquid fear.

Seifer rested the spoon on the bed. “You know,” he started conversationally, “I had a plan, coming here. But since my dick is apparently too small, I guess I’m gonna have to change it.” A slap landed sharp across Leon’s ass cheek. “I’d hate to leave him unsatisfied.”

Leon’s eyes widened. Cloud still looked confused as he tried to piece it together, but Leon was already shaking his head desperately as hands clamped around his hips and lifted him to his knees, manoeuvring his heavy body to where Seifer wanted it. He tipped over once, and Seifer righted him, shoving his knees apart to help him balance. Leon squeezed his eyes shut, barely aware that he was still trembling, barely aware of the soft, frantic whine that kept escaping his throat.

Wood scraped down over his back, coming to press lightly at his tense hole, and that’s when he heard Cloud gasp out a quiet, disbelieving, _“No_.” Then, louder, “You fucking – _no_!”

“It didn’t have to be this,” Seifer said simply. “You could’ve picked.” Then he shoved the wooden handle harshly up Leon’s ass.

Leon yelled at the sudden shock, eyes flying open, tried to veer forward but only managed to lose his balance and topple down to the side. It shifted uncomfortably inside him, and he let loose a muffled groan, fighting against an emotion he couldn’t name. It wasn’t anger, though he felt that now, too, a dark pit growing inside of him. He could still hear Cloud shouting over the loud noise of his own breathing.

“Stop being dramatic; it doesn’t hurt _that_ bad,” Seifer scoffed, rubbing Leon’s side. “In fact, I think I’m being pretty nice, considering.” Seifer didn’t bother righting him. He just yanked the spoon out and shoved it back in. It hurt more this time. Leon jerked and yelled again, then couldn’t swallow the whimper. Seifer was over him, leaning to whisper into his ear. “Sure, I interrogated you in that prison. _Just_ for information. It wasn’t fucking personal! I _never_ —,” he did it again, “— _ever_ —,” and again, “would’ve _killed_ you, Squall!”

Leon sobbed softly, the pillow under his head soaked through and through. Cloud was still watching, horrified, the words actually stolen from him, and that was worse than what Seifer was doing to him. Shame bubbled up inside of him, and he bit down on the underwear still gagging him, begging Cloud to look away. He didn’t.

“I guess I was wrong to think we had something.”

Except they had, which was what made this, now, and that, then, even worse. _‘I trusted you,’_ he thought angrily. Whatever they’d had between them, Seifer had broken himself. He wondered for half a second how much of that was because Ultimecia had broken something in Seifer. Still, he’d had chosen to betray them then, and he’d chosen to do this now.

“Then again,” Seifer continued, “if this is what you’ve made of your life, maybe I lucked out. This is pathetic.” He ran a finger down the side of Leon’s dick. Leon’s leg spasmed as he tried to kick, but it was still too hard to move.

 _“Don’t touch him.”_ Cloud sounded less angry and more desperate now. Seifer tossed him a look, cocky and triumphant.

“I mean, he’s a fucking _mailman_. This is what you decided on? Can he satisfy you? Does he… _deliver_?” The handle went out and then shoved right back in again, harder than before. Leon wished that it would stop, that Seifer would just do…something else. Anything else. He’d gladly take straight out pain over the drawn out humiliation, choking him on the shame, especially with Cloud right there.

Cloud, who wasn’t saying anything anymore. His face was starting to bruise in splotches, one cheek beginning to swell, but it did nothing to subtract from the terrifying promise written in his eerie, glowing eyes. He’d moved past threats into incoherent rage, a disturbing stillness having settled over him. Seifer froze, but then relaxed, and let out a laugh.

“Oh? Nothing else to say? No more threats? Nothing about how I’m _overcompensating_?” Seifer’s free hand wrapped fully around Leon’s dick, tugging at it. Leon yelped. A gust of wind sprung up around him, sending Seifer flying back off the bed into the nearby wall, and Leon was left on the bed, gasping and confused, only half aware of the aero he’d just managed to summon in his panic.

“Leon?” he heard Cloud call then, frantic and worried. He lifted his head, blinking blearily at Cloud. His chair had been pushed back a bit from the gust, closer to the table. A question was painted over his face, one that took a minute for him to work out, but then Leon shook his head and slumped back down. No, he wasn’t alright, and neither was Cloud. That small bit of magic had drained him, and he felt even more lethargic than before.

Something clattered, and he could hear Seifer drag himself back up to his feet with a quiet, “Fuck. Guess the drugs are starting to wear off.” Then footsteps, and Leon closed his eyes back, no more energy left to try and deal with whatever Seifer was going to do next. He could feel him standing over him. Feel his eyes boring into him. It was better like this, too, when he couldn’t see Cloud.

“You used to like it when I touched you like that.” A hand rested on top of his head, ruffling his hair.

 _‘Just stop,’_ he tried to plead, but the words were garbled and indecipherable. Seifer moved his hands lower, then shifted Leon off his side and back onto his stomach, stretched out on the bed. The wooden handle was still inside him, shifting uncomfortably with him, and, Hyne, he just wanted it gone. Seifer moved his hands down to the top of Leon’s ass and then no lower, making no move towards doing that.

“Anyway, I’m in a forgiving kind of mood right now, so I’m gonna give you another chance. Cloud. What should I do to him next?”

“Go fuck yourself,” Cloud said very calmly.

“You hear that? It’s like he doesn’t even care about you, Squall.” Leon’s laugh was muffled. What the hell did Seifer think he knew about caring for someone? Years ago, he might’ve thought differently. Years ago, he might’ve even said they’d been in love.

Now, Leon knew that Seifer didn’t know what the fuck that actually was.

“Are you _laughing_ at me?” There was a warning embedded there, one Leon didn’t care to hear. He couldn’t stop, body shaking from both laughter and fear. “You think this is a fucking joke?!”

Leon managed a half-hearted nod at the same time Cloud chimed in with, “You… _are_ a joke.”

It was all so ridiculous, now that he thought about it. Seifer was ridiculous. This whole fucking situation. That he was even _alive_. It was so out of left field, he never would have expected it, and now that he knew…The thing about it was, Seifer would either kill them both when he was done, or he wouldn’t. If he didn’t…

Leon’s laughter stayed quiet, but a hysterical edge began to creep in. Seifer was too stupid to kill both of them. It’d be one of them. As long as it wasn’t Cloud. He shouldn’t die for Leon’s mess.

Seifer fumed, nostrils flaring, and rage leaked out of him like a sieve. “Stop laughing!” he shouted. Leon refused. “Fine. If that’s how you wanna play it.” He slapped Leon’s ass, a deep pain that was sure to bruise, and it jolted the handle still inside of him, cutting his laugh off in an instant. Leon tried to muster up another aero – anything to get Seifer away from him – but his reserve of magic sat just past where he could grasp, exhausted by his earlier effort.

Like an answer to his wish, Seifer stood up then and stomped loudly around the room, cursing as he went. Things clanged loudly, and Leon cracked an eye open to see Seifer back at the table, shoving through things left and right, throwing what he didn’t want across the room. “You’re gonna regret that,” he promised. He picked up a rolling pin and threw it across the room with a frustrated roar. “None of this is good enough!” He grabbed the side and lifted, flipping it over onto its side. Everything crashed onto the floor loudly, and Leon flinched.

Seifer stood there heaving, glaring down at the mess he’d created. Then he jerked his head up, turning to stare at Leon with something approaching wonder stretched across his face. It quickly turned to wicked satisfaction. “No,” he said softly. “I know just the thing for you.”

He walked away from the mess, and Cloud bowled into him, chair and all, knocking them both over. Seifer cursed, pinned under Cloud and the chair both, and then shouted, “Ow, fuck!” when Cloud bit him in the shoulder.

“Get off of me!”

Leon couldn’t tell whether he was laughing or crying as he watched Cloud try to rip into Seifer with just his teeth, still stuck to that damn chair, and Seifer struggle to get out from under him. He punched Cloud in the side, and Cloud blanched, but only grunted. He retaliated, head-butting Seifer in the chest hard enough to knock the wind out of him. Cloud didn’t need a lot of leverage to do a lot of damage.

“How are you more annoying than _he_ is?” Seifer howled.

“A gift,” Cloud growled back.

Seifer punched him again, and then a gust of wind more violent than the aero Leon had managed to summon flared up from Seifer, sending Cloud flying into the ceiling. The chair shattered, and Cloud dropped back down to the floor, landing hard next to Seifer. He didn’t move.

Seifer stared down at himself, unsuccessfully trying to wipe the blood off his shirt with one hand. “Fucking hell,” he hissed, climbing back up to his feet. He kicked Cloud in the side, but Cloud still didn’t move. Leon wasn’t sure if that was better or worse.

“Aeros aren’t a bad idea; thanks for that, Squall.” His tone was calm, but the underlying rage bleeding through set Leon’s nerves even more on edge. Seifer stretched out, cracking his neck. “Now. Where were we?” 

He walked around the edge of the bed, out of Leon’s line of sight entirely. Leon stared at Cloud, silently begging him to get up. His laughter had died, and his eyes grew more blurry by the second. Footsteps sounded from where he couldn’t see, and then Seifer walked back around the bed into his view. In one hand, he held one of Leon’s belts. In the other, a spool of rope. Seifer dropped the belt on top of Leon’s back as he walked the rest of the way up the bed.

“I thought gagging you would be enough to get the message across,” he muttered. One hand fisted Leon’s hair again, wet with Cloud’s blood, and Seifer dragged him further up the bed, shoving his head down next to the headboard. He unspooled the rope, and then the next second, it was wrapped tightly around Leon’s throat. Seifer pulled it even tighter, cutting his air off entirely. Leon choked, jerking back and forth. “This’ll shut you up.”

Spots danced across Leon’s eyes, growing larger by the moment. Just when darkness threatened to take him, Seifer let go, and Leon coughed, struggling to pull air back in around the gag. He was shaking, trembling harder than before, especially when Seifer didn’t remove the rope.

“It’s a shame he’s not awake to watch,” Seifer continued, nodding his head towards where Cloud was sprawled out unconscious. “I’m sure he’d love this.” He pulled slowly on the rope, tightening it back until it dug into Leon’s skin and he could only just barely manage to pull any air in through his nose. “Then again, it’s nice to finally have some alone time.” Seifer finished tying the rope off, tethering his neck to the headboard. “Comfortable?” He tugged on the rope, and Leon choked. “I’d try not to move too much if I were you. I didn’t leave much give.”

He ruffled Leon’s hair. Leon tried to shake him off, but stopped short, choking again when the rope around his neck tightened. Seifer made a satisfied noise in the back of his throat, then picked the belt back up.

“You always did like your belts,” he said easily. He snapped the belt, and Leon only just managed not to jump at the loud, unexpected crack. “This one’s a nice piece of work. Make it yourself?” He dragged his hand over the buckle. “You don’t have to answer. Of course you made it yourself. I can still recognise your work, Squall. You’ve gotten a lot better.” He looked down at him, the expression on his face cold and terrifying. “That’s what makes it perfect, really.”

Leon did his best to tune Seifer out. He timed out his breathing, pulling in a weak, ragged breath, and then letting it out slowly. This would be over soon. It had to be. He just closed his eyes and focussed on breathing.

The first stroke landed high across his back, just below his shoulders. Pain exploded in a line, extra sharp where the buckle broke through. Leon jerked instinctually, fighting to get away, but the yell was cut off almost immediately by the pull of the rope around his neck. 

“Really great work, Squall; it’s a great belt.” A second, third, and fourth stroke fell in quick succession, landing in different places but no less painful. “I bet if he was still awake, he’d be asking why I’m doing this.” Another one, tearing through skin, and Leon couldn’t breathe enough for the wail trying to force its way out of his throat. “Might even suggest you _don’t deserve it_.” Again and again, endlessly, his back getting torn up with every blow, and Seifer wasn’t going to stop. “We both know you do.”

His eyes burned; his neck burned; his lungs burned. His back was on fire and wet with blood. Seifer was still talking, but he couldn’t make out what was being said. The belt came down again, landing across a welt that had already been left, splitting his skin in two. He could feel it and couldn’t, the pain beginning to blur together even as it worsened. Leon was begging. It didn’t matter that the words were muffled or that his voice was gone every time the rope strangled him. He could barely breathe as it was and didn’t have the strength to fight off the black spots dancing through his eyes.

The belt landed again, harsh across his lower back. Leon blacked out.

He didn’t know how long it had been when he came to, but the first thing he was aware of was the sharp wash of pain in his back. He whimpered as Seifer dug a finger into one of the split open welts.

“Good. You’re awake. Can’t have you passing out on me like that, Squall.” Leon couldn’t have replied if he’d wanted to. “Every time you do, I’m just gonna wait for you to wake up so we can start again,” Seifer continued. “I’ve been waiting for this for… _years_. I promise, you’re gonna feel every _second_ of punishment until I’m done.” Seifer dragged his hand the rest of the way down Leon’s back, raking his finger over the bloody mess. It took every ounce of self-control he had not to fight against it lest he cut his air supply off again.

“ _Smph_ ,” he garbled out. Seifer flicked his ass. Leon barely felt it.

“I’m going to guess you’re asking me to stop, right?” He paused as if waiting for Leon to answer. “ _No_.” Seifer grabbed the spoon still sticking out of his ass, and somehow, Leon had forgotten about that. He shook his head, choked when he moved too far. “Or maybe you want me to take this out now? Had about enough?” Seifer pulled it out slowly, and Leon stayed frozen in place, heart jackhammering in his chest. “You haven’t,” he hissed, and Leon cried when he shoved it back in. “I’m just giving you what you _deserve_.” Seifer let go. “Though, we’ve got plenty of time to get to that later. You always were a good fuck.”

The bed shifted as Seifer stood up, and he heard the familiar clink of his belt buckle. Leon sobbed into the pillow. At least Cloud was unconscious for this. Hopefully just unconscious, and not…

The idea that Cloud could be dead erupted into his mind, and Leon froze, eyes locked onto the limp body on the floor. How long had it been since this had started? How much blood had Cloud lost? How long since he’d last moved? Terror welled up in him, overwhelming everything, and for a second he forgot what was happening.

Then the belt cracked hard over the skin on his ass, yanking him back into the moment, and Leon couldn’t think about Cloud anymore. The next one hit lower, jolting the handle inside him as it cut into his ass, and Leon whined, yanking hard enough that he didn’t have time to loosen the noose on his neck before the next one landed lower still, across his thighs.

Seifer stopped, watching Leon struggle with a fascinated glee. “Sort yourself out,” he ordered like Leon wasn’t trying to do exactly that. By the time he managed to slide into a spot where he could breathe again, spots were back flashing across his eyes. “I told you not to pass out on me again.” The growl was angry, and Leon wanted to protest that he hadn’t. Even if he could’ve, Seifer started beating him in earnest then.

“I don’t think I have words to describe what she did to me, Squall! What you _let_ her do because you couldn’t even fucking kill me properly!” The belt dug into his thighs, his ass, over the mess that his back was already, rage exuding out more each time it landed. “You could’ve just told me what I wanted to know!”

Leon didn’t black out. He faded away, lost track of what was happening in a wash of pain and humiliation made worse every time the strap caught on the thing still shoved up his ass. And just as soon as the frenzy had started, it stopped. The lack of new pain brought him back to himself in a jolt.

Seifer stood over him heaving, his eyes blown wide and crazy looking. Leon braced himself, flinching when Seifer lifted his hand with the belt in it again, but instead of beating him again, he just threw the strap down to the ground. He sat back down on the bed next to Leon and rested a hand back on his head, tangling fingers through hair.

“You know what I really hate, too?” He brushed through Leon’s hair lightly. “I can’t even hate you the way you deserve.”

That almost made Leon laugh again, but his whole body was testament to why that wasn’t a good idea. This wasn’t hate? Then what the fuck was it, then?

“I mean, I’m still gonna kill you when I’m done, don’t get me wrong. But part of me doesn’t want to be done for a very long time.” Lips pressed into his cheek, and Leon shuddered, whining behind the gag. The very idea was a nightmare. He’d rather die than have to live with Seifer deciding to keep him until he got bored.

Seifer laughed. “You hate the thought of that, don’t you? Well, I also hate how much I _thought_ about you. I shouldn’t have wasted my time. You’ve thrown away everything that made you who you were!” Seifer paused, and Leon felt his hand reach down underneath him, grasping at his dick. Leon yelped, but there was nowhere to move to try and get away or magic in his grasp to help. “Well. Not _everything_.”

Seifer squeezed it lightly. Leon whimpered at the sudden shock of pleasure, a sharp contrast to the pulsating pain threatening to overwhelm him. Shame flushed through him when his dick started to harden. “I _really_ wish he was seeing this.”

Cloud not seeing this was the one small mercy of this situation.

He felt Seifer pull away from him – breathed out a huff of short-lived relief through his nose when Seifer let go of him – and tried not to think about the way the bed dipped behind him. He moaned when hands clamped down on his torn up thighs and shoved his legs apart, forcing his attention back to the thing shifting uncomfortably inside him as Seifer settled in between them. And then it was gone, yanked out and clattering on the floor on the other side of the room. Leon was too on edge – too aware of what was coming next, too equal parts angry and terrified – to feel any kind of relief at that.

“This is the one part of you I don’t regret missing,” Seifer said. The distinctive sound of a zip echoed loudly through his ears, and then hands were on his hips, shifting him up. The small movement was agonizing, but he didn’t have time to process that. Seifer forced his dick inside of him, one quick thrust that felt like it was ripping him in two. Leon didn’t even try to fight the muffled scream.

“Fuck!” Seifer hissed above him. “Hyne, yes, that’s…that’s the thing.” He gasped, pulling out, and shoved back in, impaling him. Leon sobbed. “Wait,” Seifer said. “Wait, I know what—” A hand worked at the back of his head, and then the underwear were pulled out of his mouth, tossed aside haphazardly. “Wanna hear you.”

The scream this time wasn’t muffled, but it was cut off halfway through when he moved too far, shoved forward by the force of Seifer’s thrust, and choked for air. Seifer pulled back, and Leon could breathe again.

“ _Good_ ,” Seifer breathed out. “Just like that.”

‘ _Please_ ,’ sat at the tip of his tongue, a desperate imploration for Seifer to _stop_ , but that was what he wanted here. Even if he got it, he wouldn’t stop, and he was going to kill Leon either way. He stared at Cloud, still motionless on the ground, and indignation boiled up inside of his chest. Leon bit down on his tongue on the next thrust, stifling the noise of pain, and then managed, instead, to squeeze out, “Cloud w’s… _right_.”

Seifer paused inside of him. “…the fuck’d you say?”

Leon sucked in a breath while he still could. He glanced up at Seifer, catching what glimpse he could from the corner of his eye and a small, bitter smile crossing his face as he answered. “Small dick.”

“Oh, you think that’s funny, Leonhart?” Seifer yanked the rope tight around his neck, cutting off his airway, and thrust into him furiously. Leon tried to gasp, but couldn’t even manage that, tears leaking down his face. “Joke’s on you: I’m still the one fucking you right now.” He rocked into him again to emphasize, and then didn’t stop, fucking him relentlessly, over and over and over again. Leon let himself drift away – easy to do when oblivion teased at the corner of his awareness, promising to take hold.

Seifer let go of the rope, leaving Leon struggling to grab what precious little breath he could. Movement caught his attention. His eyes drew back to Cloud, widening when he saw Cloud’s finger twitch again. He lifted his gaze higher, and blue eyes were staring back at him, blown too wide and dazed, staring through him. He couldn’t breathe again, for reasons completely unrelated to the rope around his neck.

Hyne, no.

“You always were a good lay.” Seifer’s voice was breathy and washed over him without the words sinking in.

Leon wanted to look away – to bury his shame and face in the pillow – but he couldn’t. He stared back at Cloud, eyes locked together, even more aware of Seifer rocking into him, grunting above him as he began to slow down. His stomach roiled. It seemed to stretch on forever. Cloud blinked slowly and shifted, a soft, pained hiss escaping him when he moved. He was still out of it, and his eyes moved from Leon to Seifer on top of him and then back to Leon, brow furrowing in confusion.

“Almost…almost makes me not wanna kill you,” Seifer groaned. He was getting more sporadic, rocking Leon’s whole body with each thrust, a sure sign he was on the verge of finishing. Leon tightened his fists, nails digging into palms, and still couldn’t stop looking at Cloud.

It was obvious the moment Cloud woke up fully. He blanched, horror etching in across his face. Then his eyes changed, flashing green as his pupils shifted. Leon bit his lip, swallowing down the scream when a hand dug into his back. Cloud shifted slowly to his knees, handcuffs dangling from his wrists, and batted his hand around for anything he could reach. His fist grasped closed around the handle of one of the knives.

Cloud wasn’t looking at Leon anymore. His eyes were pinned on Seifer, sparking with immutable rage as he staggered the rest of the way up to his feet.

“Fuck,” Seifer gasped, too caught up in his impending orgasm to pay notice to what was happening. “Fuck, yeah, that’s—!”

It all happened at once. Seifer yelled out, cum spilling out hot inside Leon, and then he yelled again – more of a shriek – and was gone, a loud thud sounding as his body collided with the wall.

“Fuck!” he shouted, for entirely different reasons this time.

Cloud stood there, swaying on his feet, his body and the knife dripping with blood both. “I said,” he began slowly, rounding each word out carefully so they didn’t slur together, “don’t… _fucking_ …touch him.” The look on his face was terrifying, promising to return everything Seifer had done to both of them and more.

“ _Fucker_ ,” Seifer hissed, pained. “Should’ve killed you first.” He stepped back into Leon’s line of vision, one hand held tight around the gushing wound in his side. “Live and learn. I’ll fix that now.”

He bowled into Cloud, knocking him to the ground, and Leon couldn't make out what was happening amidst the flurry of limbs, of thrown punches and kicks. He glimpsed the knife as it dug into Seifer's shoulder, and Seifer yelled again, returning the favour with a punch to Cloud's chest that left him gasping.

Leon watched, panic eating away at him as he fought to free his wrists from the rope cutting into them, yanking and tugging until his wrists were bleeding. If the circumstances were different - if they were normal - he wouldn't have any worry for Cloud, who outclassed Seifer so badly it wasn't even close, but Cloud was barely conscious and unsteady on his feet, still drugged, injured, and having lost too much blood.

Seifer yanked the knife out, smiled at it, and then stabbed down. Cloud barely managed to catch his hand before the blade pierced through his chest. Leon reached inside himself for something – _anything_ – grasping desperately at the reserve of magic sitting just at his fingertips. Adrenaline raced through him, his heart beating wildly out of control as the tip of the blade began to dig into Cloud’s skin.

"Fucking die already!" Seifer roared.

" _Fuck you_ ," Cloud snarled back.

The fire flared to life unexpectedly, burning through the rope and catching on Leon's skin before it died out. He couldn't feel the pain - couldn't feel anything, really, except the deep exhaustion of using magic when running on fumes and the overwhelming need to stop Seifer from killing Cloud. He shoved himself off the bed, lurching unsteadily, but his focus was only on saving Cloud.

Leon grabbed the first thing in reach - his belt, ironically; Seifer needed to be more careful with where he threw things - and joined the fray, wrapping it around Seifer's neck and pulling back with his whole weight, pulling him off of Cloud.

"Make sure no one…brings you back this time," he rasped, taking grim satisfaction from the way it was Seifer who was choking now. The knife slipped out of his hand, clattering to the ground as he reached for the belt, yanking uselessly against it. Leon held on with every ounce of strength still in him.

Seifer reared up, sending them both flying backwards. Leon crashed to the floor. Pain exploded in his side, breaking through the haze of adrenaline coursing through him. He struggled up to his knees, and then Seifer was on top of him, raining down blows he only just managed to fend off.

"You can never just make things easy!" Seifer shouted. And then Cloud was on top of him again, pushing him off of Leon. Cloud fell on him, and Seifer barely managed to get his hands over his face before Cloud was stabbing at him, slashing up his arms, his torso - anywhere the knife could land. Seifer shouted, struggling to kick Cloud off of him.

"You like being cut up?!" Cloud's eyes were flashing, his whole body moving in a frenzy as he tried to tear him apart like he'd promised.

"Aeroga!" Seifer squeezed out in a panic, and the violent wind whipped through the room, tossing Cloud to the side. The knife fell to the floor, and Leon lunged for it. Seifer scooped it up first, and clambered to his feet with a snarl. Seifer's hand was shaking, panic flashing briefly on his face when Cloud just shook it off this time and stood up.

"The fuck _are_ you?" he demanded. Leon knew Cloud, though, and could see how sluggish he'd gotten. Seifer, for all he was cut up and bleeding too, still had the advantage. Cloud's gaze turned to Leon for a second, concern winning out over rage, and Seifer moved.

"No!" Leon shouted, pushing himself up, barely cognizant of the damage that had been done to him. He grabbed Seifer's arm to pull him back, and Seifer turned in the same moment, bringing his other arm around.

Leon froze, then gasped, but couldn't suck any air in. He stared, dazed, at Seifer, who stared down at him with surprise in equal measure. He glanced down slowly, barely managed to take in the knife embedded in his ribcage before Seifer yanked it out.

"Seif—," he managed, shock overtaking him, but the word was cut off when he coughed, blood bubbling up on his lips.

The surprise faded from Seifer's face, replaced with a dark glee. "Well, I was gonna kill you anyway," he said, and stabbed him again in the stomach.

Leon lurched forward, collapsing into Seifer as he pulled the knife out again.

" _Leon!_ " Cloud shrieked, a ferocity to the word that didn't begin to capture the terror or anger or shock Cloud was feeling. He crossed the room in an instant, ripping Seifer away from Leon. A loud crack echoed through the stillness, and then Seifer screamed as he was thrown into the table, bleeding side hitting the wood hard. He managed to stay on his feet, cradling his misshapen arm, unlike Leon who slumped down to his knees. Cloud caught him, lowering him the rest of the way to the ground before he turned back to Seifer, death written in his glowing green eyes.

For the first time, Seifer looked genuinely afraid.

"You'll pay for that," Cloud growled low, the promise so cold the temperature permeated the room. He stood up, advancing on Seifer slowly, every hint of weariness he had been feeling disappeared. Seifer staggered back, cognizant of the danger he was in, but his back hit the table leg before he could go any further.

Leon coughed, gagging on his blood, but he couldn't pass out yet. He was desperate to watch this nightmare end.

“Flare!” Seifer yelled, panic eating at away at his voice, and the resulting explosion pushed Cloud back, blinding them both for a minute. The door slammed, and Leon blinked the vision back into his eyes to Seifer gone and Cloud glancing back and forth between him and the door, torn as to what his priority should be.

"G- _go_ ," he demanded weakly, pointing at the door. He needed Seifer dead _now_. "Go...after...him." His voice was shallow, breathing weak, but it didn't matter as long as Seifer died. He was starting to feel cold, too, lethargy creeping in on him.

Cloud crashed down hard on his knees next to him, the exhaustion emanating out of him palpable.

"Se'fer," Leon tried, but then coughed again, blood splattering on to Cloud's face.

"He can wait," Cloud said, voice desperate and tight with unshed tears. He stared helplessly at Leon, lost and panicked. "Don't you fucking die," he whispered furiously. "Not you, too."

"Cloud," he gasped. "Y'r...alive." That's what mattered most.

"F-fuck you," he hissed, the water beginning to leak out of his eyes. "Not you, too." Cloud jerked away from him, his adrenaline gone with Seifer, and stumbled around the mess of the room. "Where is it?" He begged, digging through the upended closet. “Fuck!” he shouted, throwing something against the wall. “If-if Yuffie…if she took it—,” he bit off the rest of the sentence with a sob, and kept digging through the mess.

“C-Cl—,” Leon gurgled helplessly, trying to call out to Cloud but not having the words. Blackness began to creep into his vision, and he didn’t want to die like this, alone when Cloud could be next to him.

“Not you,” Cloud repeated, again and again, the quiet imploration loud in the silence. “Not you, please _gods_. Not again.” And then, suddenly, “Yes!” Cloud exclaimed, relief lacing through his voice. Leon faded, and when he blinked back, Cloud was kneeling over him, pitching back and forth as he wobbled unsteadily. “You’re gonna…gonna be fine,” Cloud reassured. His voice wavered in and out, but he clutched onto the green orb in his hand tightly. The piece of materia glowed with healing magic. Leon could feel the warmth of it from there and was captivated, barely even aware when Cloud slipped his other hand into his.

The first touch of magic brushed lightly over him, and Cloud teetered, nearly collapsing on top of him. “N-n,” he tried to protest, but his head just lolled to the side instead of the shake he was going for.

“Sh-shut up,” Cloud replied. “G-g’nna be…fine.”

“ _D…on’t._ ” He coughed up more blood, and the materia slipped out of Cloud’s hand, clattering onto the floor and rolling away. Cloud teetered precariously before his eyes rolled up into his head and he crashed down to the ground next to Leon.

“Cl…o…ud.” He begged him to get up again. Cloud didn’t twitch. His breath hitched, hot water gathering in his eyes again as darkness crept back in. It wasn’t fair that Seifer was going to win this; that they were both going to die here. He squeezed his hand tight around Cloud’s, the only movement he could make.

In the distance, a door slammed open. _‘Seifer,’_ he thought half-heartedly, the disappointment and lethargy strong enough to overcome any fear that might be left. He’d come back.

 _“Hey, Cloud! Leon! I know you told me not to barge in without calling first, but I was bored so I came in anyway,”_ he heard, distant and upbeat, and he had a split second to register his surprise, to hear footsteps growing louder and a shocked scream, _“Oh, gods! Squall! Cloud!”_ before the darkness swallowed him completely, and he knew no more.

~~~

It was the soft murmur of voices that woke Leon up, rocking him softly out of his sleep. A soft haze of pain sat under his skin, present and yet numbed, too far away to matter. He squeezed tight around the hand resting in his as his eyes fluttered softly open.

“You’re alive,” was the first thing he said, before Cloud had even fully registered in his mind. His torso was bandaged up, bundled tight, and he didn’t have a shirt on, laying in a bed next to his own. The smile Cloud returned him was tight and pained.

“Should be saying that to you,” he replied.

“I should be saying that to _both_ of you!” Yuffie exclaimed loudly, and Leon turned his head to see the girl vibrating with the effort not to throw her arms around him. She was the one holding his hand right now, not Cloud he realised, and her grip tightened. Her eyes shined, lip wobbling as she continued. “I thought you were when I found you. There was so much blood, and you were both…” she trailed off, looking lost. “You’re both so lucky I don’t ever listen to you when you tell me not to come by unannounced, you know.”

“Mm,” Leon acknowledged. He didn’t have the energy to engage more than that right now.

“She’s been saying that since I woke up,” Cloud said easily.

“Seifer?” Leon asked.

“Who’s Seifer?” Yuffie asked.

Cloud didn’t say anything. The silence was answer enough.

Reading the room, Yuffie pulled her hand away, tucking it into her lap. “You know, I think I’m gonna just…give you two a minute.” She bounced to her feet and towards the door. “I’ll go tell Rinoa you’re awake.” And then she was gone.

“He got away,” Leon realised.

“We’ll find him,” Cloud promised.

“If you’d gone after him then—”

“You would’ve _died_.”

Leon fell silent. It stretched out between them, heavy and sullen, not at all like the comfortable silences they were used to. Finally, he said, “You shouldn’t have tried to heal me.”

"You shouldn't have gotten _stabbed_ ," Cloud shot back. Leon barked out a laugh, amused and bitter all at once.

"I shouldn't have let him rape me, either." His words were too soft, much too serious for the flippant tone Cloud had achieved, and croaked because it hurt to speak. Leon watched him, ambivalent, as his face cycled through a bevy of emotions, settling somewhere between horror and repulsion as he turned slightly green.

“Gods, Leon, no, that’s not what I – I didn’t mean it like that. I didn’t—”

"I know," Leon cut in before Cloud could say anything else. "I know, Cloud, but...Hyne. What he _did…_ "

"I'm sorry." The apology caught Leon off guard. He frowned, trying to make heads or tails of it - any kind of sense.

"You're what?"

"I'm sorry," Cloud repeated. He wasn't looking at Leon, instead staring down at the bed as he fiddled with the sheets bunched up around his waist. He made a pathetic sight with his shoulders slumped and whole body swathed in bandages. Leon didn't even try to imagine what he looked like underneath them. Cloud was lucky he didn't scar. Leon knew it would be a miracle if his back wasn't marked up for the rest of his life. Just like his face.

"If I had...if I hadn't...I provoked him," Cloud settled on, flat and emotionless to try and hide the churning guilt that managed to bleed through anyway. "On purpose. I should've gone with it."

"So he could pour bleach on me, too?" It was maybe too snide for what the conversation called for, but Leon didn't have the energy to care. He grabbed on to the bar on the bed, pulling himself up to lean against the mass of pillows behind him. He swallowed down the pain, an immediate reminder that he was in no condition to be moving yet, and stared at Cloud, his whole affect hard.

"Shut up," he snapped. "I meant what he did to _you_." He could barely wrap his mind around what Seifer had done to him, but what he'd done to Cloud was a sharp image that wouldn't blur any time soon. "If you weren't you, you'd be…" A coughing fit cut him off, but he didn't need to finish to get his point across.

The terror of Cloud motionless on the floor gripped him tight about the heart.

" _You_ almost were." Cloud looked at Leon now, blue eyes soft and filled with a long festering pain. "I wasn't about to lose you, too." Leon didn't know what to say to that. The ghosts of Zack and Aerith always lingered in Cloud's heart, just like the ghost of Seifer had always been in his.

And then Cloud said: "It was me he wanted to stab."

Leon laughed for real now, relaxing into the pillow to stare up at the ceiling. Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, blurring the crinkle corn ceiling until he could only see an expanse of white.

"No." It was a puff of breath. Leon could barely even hear himself speak, wasn't even sure the word had made it out. "Wasn't about _you_." The shock etched into Seifer's face had caught him just as off guard as it had Leon. "Not even...not even about me." It was about Seifer. Every fucking thing was about Seifer, so many decisions he'd made in his life and they'd all tied back to him in some way.

 _"You’ve thrown away everything that made you who you were!”_ he'd said, and Leon couldn't say that was wrong. He was wrong about it being because of Cloud, though.

"Squall…"

"Don't call me that." Not right now, not with Seifer's voice still ringing loudly through his head. _Squall_ was the life he’d left behind, and now… "I quit my whole life because of him.” Balamb with the memory of Seifer lingering over him had been all shadows and ghosts. Every empty corner was a spotlight on his failure, screaming at him that he was equal parts vindicated and punished for killing Seifer.

Cloud’s eyes flashed green. “You quit because you were _miserable_. You hated your life. You clearly don’t remember what you were like when we met.”

“I remember exactly what I was like.” He paused, then added, “I didn’t…didn’t say I wasn’t…better for it.” That wasn’t what was bothering him now. What needled away at his mind was all the time he’d wasted feeling bad over that sack of shit. The guilt and the grief that had knotted together inside him, messed him up so bad he’d moved continents, and for what? Seifer had been alive this whole time.

And now he’d done this, making a mess of Leon’s life all over again.

“He came into our _house_ ,” he spat, a burning anger suddenly flaring up inside of him. “He did that…to us…in our fucking house.” In their bed, at that. Twice now, Seifer had taken what he cared about most and ruined it, twisting it up into something distorted and broken.

“We can burn the place for all I care.” The vitriol with which Cloud spat that sentence out belied the calm he’d been projecting this whole time. He was angry, too. More than that. “We _should_ burn it.”

“ _No!”_ Leon didn’t shout, but his reply was out, furious at the idea, before he’d even fully wrapped his mind around what Cloud was suggesting. The thought of never having to step foot in that room again held a strong appeal, but that place represented everything good he and Cloud had built together. “Fuck if I’ll let him destroy that, too.”

“I don’t regret not going after him,” Cloud began. “You _would’ve_ died, and I might have, too. But I swear to all the gods, Leon: when I get out of here, I will find him and kill him for you. I will tear him apart.”

“You won’t,” Leon corrected.

“I – what?” The confusion was palpable.

Leon made sure he was looking Cloud dead in the eye. “I will.”

The confusion switched to concern instantly. “…Squ— _Leon_ ,” Cloud self-corrected, fast enough that Leon barely noticed but appreciated it all the same. “You’re not an assassin anymore. You swore off killing. I haven’t.”

“Because of him,” Leon replied evenly. “Because I thought I’d killed my…” There had never been a word he could think of that could capture what Seifer had been to him. The betrayal then had been huge and complete. The betrayal now… “I said Seifer was the _end_ of it.” And he would be.

**Author's Note:**

> Jsyk, this is part 1 of a longer series.


End file.
